8 Energy Saving Tips You Can Do This Weekend

Energy Saving Tips from energy.gov

According to energy.gov following these simple steps you can do for FREE or inexpensively will undoubtedly lower your utility costs.

1. Take Advantage of Heat From The Sun:

   During the day, open blinds that face south to efficiently and consistently heat your home, then at night close them to lower the chilling effect you feel at night from cold windows.

2. Turn Off Unnecessary Lights:

   Just two incandescent bulbs switched off for an average of 2 hours per day can save you $12 per year. I know that doesn’t sound like much but tie that in with every other appliance that uses electricity, plus water, plus gas, plus expenses for upkeep of those appliances, that expense, in reality, is doubled.

3. Reduce Lost Heat From The Fireplace:

   Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is burning. Keeping the damper open is like keeping a window wide open during the winter; it allows warm air to go right up the chimney.

4. Turn Off Water When Washing Hands, Brushing Teeth and Shaving:

   We all know this one from our Mom’s yelling at us as children to shut the water off while we obliviously let the water run and the fish in the pond outside is slowly losing water. Turning the water off reduces your hot water usage by 5% and saves you around $21 per year.

5. Cover Drafty Windows:

   Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Make sure the plastic is sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration. You can find a home window insulator kit for less than $10 at any hardware store.

6. Hang Dry Your Laundry:

   If you do eight loads of laundry a week and you hang dry your clothes for 50% of those loads, you could save $47 a year!

7. Toss a Dry Towel In The Dryer:

   This will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes for your clothes to dry resulting in huge savings throughout the year.

8. Unplug Unused Electronics:

   Believe it or not, standby power can account for 10% of an average household’s annual electricity use. Unplug unused electronics and save $50 a year.

REenergizeCO is always here to answer any questions about living more comfortably, lowering energy bills, and feeling better about decreasing consumption on the energy grid.